Posted by sturmer on June 24, 2008 at 12:41:28:Well I see Dr KL tomorrow for my one month appt to get my arch bars off thank God! It has been quite a journey for me but I suppose I am a good case with very limited complications. Here is where I am right now:
Numbness: I have mild numbness in my lower chin but I can still feel all parts of it. There is tingling on the right side but the numbness kind of feels like a 30% numbness. I can feel pain anywhere I poke. I told my doctor this and he said he does try and preserve nerves as best he can. Actaually the only numbess that is true numbness is up behind my upper teeth. I was brushing there and felt nothig. I could live with this and my guess is it will resolve but wow that was weird!
Pain: None. I only have discomfort in my jaws if I talk to much or try and sleep on my side and put pressure on jaw. I have some swelling in my right cheek still which creates some tightness. I also feel like the arch bars are causing discomfort aside from their evil cutting ways. I cant wait to have them off! Oh yeah i also dont feel to good if I open my mouth too much but Im surpised with bands off when brushing and cleaning I can open an inch before it feels uncomfortable.
Mental: This whole experience was way more than i bargained for. I still feel like I am recovering from a major accident or something (self imposed!!). I was hoping that like CPAP works for some, this would be like turning on a lightswitch for my sleep and feeling 100%. This has thus far been partly elusive but I do know I am dreaming now. Years ago I realized I didnt dream anymore. THis was for sure due to constantly getting kicked out of Rem sleep from my UARS/apnea. The fatigue that plagues me gets me depressed now and then and makes me feel like I am still having apnea. But with my airway so large and my wife often awake watching and listening to me sleep this seems impossible. So I believe I have uncovered some mild insomnia from the surgery and hopefully like my post surgery severe RLS which went away, I hope this will too! Sometimes when I get up too fast I feel like I am dancing with dizziness and Im not sure how much excercise I should do. A brisk walk gets my heart rate up like Im running post surgery and sometimes I get weird buzzing and pressure in my ears which creates anxiety due to its incessant pulsing nature. Im sure getting my archbars off will improve my mental state and overall I am a lot more positive than I was 2 weeks ago!
Sleep: Again I dream now and that is pretty major and a good sign I think. I started dreaming right after surgery so this must be a clue. Occasionally I wake up at night in a mild sweat but nothing like I used to. And I dont wake up gasping for air anymore. My biggest problem is falling asleep. It is hard for me to be tired enough to fall asleep. In fact i have to be exhausted or I cant. This must be due to never being able to sleep on my back well. Even when I awake tired I cant fall back asleep. Once Im up, im up. I cant even take naps during the day unless exhausted. Good signs in one respect Im sure. I no longer wake up in the fog i used to have or have the excessive daytime sleepiness. I dont crash in the afternoon like I used to. In fact I do have an amazing amount of energy but when I do something to excerting I spiral quickly to exhaustion. I suppose this is normal after this surgery and probably why many write of mild depression, fatigue, etc. In the end I am glad I did it. I can tell the surgery has changed my life and it can only get better with the improvements I am slowly ever so slowly seeing.
Medication: None. Well I am taking a B Complex, Acidopholous (I had a nasty holding on case of thrush) and occasional iron. I really wanted to try and flush all the other nasty stuff out of my system because I dont really think I will know where I am until its all out!
Eating: I have eaten(drank) like a horse through this whole ordeal. Blended everything under the sun, all the time. Milkshakes like a madman, ensure, even beef stroganoff! I still have lost 8 lbs but I knew lots of vit d, calcium and calories were my best chance and getting better faster. my wife has been a life saver, smoothies, you name it she blended it. I cant wait for soft foods once these bars come off tomorrow! I atually got an oreo cooking milkshake and the cookie chunks were too big the other day. I actually chewed them when mushy and I KNOW i wasnt supposed to but I was careful and was able to. This confirmed what I hoped.
Teeth/Bite: My bite appears perfect visually. My teeth interlock perfectly. Since I have cheated and chewed it seems they are very close if not exactly the same as before. Im sure something has to be a little off but I feel really lucky here hearing others experiences. A bad bite can be bad news, especially when I read most have the feeling of lose teeth longterm afterwards. I definitely will be on the dental train to keep a close watch on my teeth once I get these bars off. Oh and a cleaning asap, anyone know when you can do this post op?
Physicial: i look different. better? my side profile is much improved. goodbye recessed chin. frontal face still has some swelling and the arch bars and wax make it difficult to tell 100% but i believe on the whole i look better over all. i had a small lower jaw and now it is bigger and more prominent (12mm advance, 8 on top). my nostrils are slightly bigger but i just look different. I tried to prepare myself the best i could for this and overwhelmingly i get people more amazed than anything. Well after the shock! Many just think i had a successful plastic surgery!
Voice: For me as a singer this was a huge concern. My biggest. I was assured MMA could not change voice by KL. I had read botched ones where it destroeyd voices in rare cases probably done by less experienced surgeons. Also at the last minute the anesthesiologist reminded me the intubation could damage my voice. That all said. With the voicings Ive done Im happy to report it seems exactly the same if not clearer!
i wont know for a while but Me 2.0 even with the roller coaster ride going there was well worth it on all fronts. I know I have a ways to go in recovery but I feel like the surgery was a miracle. Just its not wham bam flash ta da!! It like clunkity clunk clunkity clunk clunkity clunk clunkity clunk.....
In my case Dr KL was nothing short of a miracle worker. Coming out of the surgery and having a very stressful ICU experience which I think set back my healing I thought I was destroyed for life. What had I done to myself!!!! One month post op the tide is beginning to turn and I can honestly say I no longer think about the debilitating sleep problems I had before the surgery. All I think about sleep wise now is...how can I speed the healing process naturally, do i really need drugs for symptom x y z and can I avoid all of them, how can I fall asleep faster. My sleep is much improved I can feel it as I type. I guess I have years of sleep issues to undo and that will take some time. :-)
Onwards and upwards!! Here's to a good nights sleep
Sturmer
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